Sunday, May 28, 2006

CHILDREN OF SECULARISM

South India is now on the top of the world in terms of family suicides and Kerala is leading the nation once again in ‘social development’. Hundreds have committed suicide and thousands are getting ready for it. Usually everyone avoids looking for personal details of those who commit suicide. But recently one of our own social scientists decided to take a look at it and the results are indeed alarming. More than 75% of these ‘family suiciders’ in Kerala belong to the majority community, which is far in excess of their population in the state. There must be a definite reason for this strange affinity and it is high time the reasons are identified and corrections initiated in the society. If the deliberate indifference of those in power continues, the results can be disastrous and far reaching. The disease can spread and even the fate of Indian nation can be in jeopardy.

A sizeable proportion of our population is still illiterate and any one trying to analyse such social evils are tempted to conclude it as such. But this is far from true when we realise that Kerala is a cent percent literate state and social indices are world class thanks to land reforms and silent revolutions initiated by the leftists. Many of the so-called upper caste monopolies have been dismantled and all forms of ‘minoritism’ are flourishing. There are no issues like untouchability and discrimination on the basis of caste or colour in matters public. Kerala society has progressed quite a lot in terms of public amenities and availability of basic services. Poverty is not at all rampant and money is definitely available for those who know how to earn it. Then what is it that is letting individuals and families to commit suicide en masse? It is just because most of them are children of secularism.

End-of-the-Road Feeling

From a purely philosophical point of view, what is actually wrong if someone decides to put an end to his own life? But all legal and religious systems think otherwise. In some of the religions it is completely unacceptable and is considered a crime against God. Those who attempt it have scope for good life neither in this world nor in other worlds. Their future is considered sealed for ever because they had no right to take away what has been given by God. But all these faithful theories prevent only those have imbibed it at their young age. For others there is nothing that stands in the way of anyone determined to go for it. Most people attempt suicide only when they are convinced that their road has come to an end. They convince themselves that there is no light at the end of the long tunnel. It is here that their faith in God and mental strength are coming under test. And it is here that many of the untrained and unprepared fail.

Whatever way we look at it, life is a struggle for everyone. This is equally true for all those who ultimately succeed or fail. I think it was Nehru who said ‘Success often comes to those who dare and act; and never to the timid who are ever afraid of the consequences’. But what he said was only part of the whole truth. There are many dare devils who ultimately leaps to death because they never bothered to ensure at least a safety net at the bottom. They believed that someone else will take care of their needs and never believed in the policy of taking care of themselves. Majority of the majority community who succumb to the easy escape route of suicide belong to this category. Neither their community have the combined will or wherewithal to spread the safety net nor have they developed it themselves. Secular education has helped India to win the appreciation of outside world but have left her majority children helpless in front of unexpected failures in life. For many of these children of secularism it is end-of-the-road whenever there is financial crisis or shame & scandal in the family. And they fall easy prey to the fatal escapism of suicide.

Secure or Secular Education

India is a secular democratic nation and a majority of us have received only secular education in secular schools. Though secularism does not call for total avoidance of religious studies, this has been the case in India, especially among those belonging to the majority community. With the growing influence of left politics in the country, this avoidance is slowing growing into aversion for anything religious. While a sizeable section of our population is going to madrassas and Sunday schools right from very young age to understand the basics of their own religion, a vast majority are growing up as children of secularism. They are taught nothing about religion, beliefs, prayer and faith. All that they are taught is about Science, Social Science and Mathematics. And most of them leave the school with the firm beliefs that their ‘secular’ knowledge will take them to successful heights in career and life. The downfall starts there itself, but by that time it is too late to correct anything. The damage has been done. In India today, we have the maximum number of children of secularism who can only solve mathematical problems but none of the problems in their lives.

What is urgently required is the introduction of bare minimum of secure education in our secular system. Young children of secularism must be taught how to secure their mind and body. India’s own heritage has enough and more tools and techniques to achieve this. Be it Gita or Yoga or Meditation, each are unparalleled in their own fields for conditioning the young children of secularism to the vagaries of life. I am yet to hear a speech of any leader in any school which avoids mentioning the simple fact that today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens. If there is an iota of sincerity in what they say, it is already very late in the introduction of Gita classes for the children of secularism, if needed at government expense. That is the only way to avoid the end-of-the-road feeling to these children of secularism when confronted with problems in life. If we procrastinate further, majority of these children of secularism would have committed suicide by the year 2050. History and heritage of this great nation will not forgive us for not securing the future of our children in time.